FTC to Participate in Global Agreement for Data Privacy, Enforcement Security

The Federal Trade Commission will participate in the Global Cooperation Agreement for Privacy Enforcement, an international agreement for data privacy and security for commerce-related investigations and enforcement actions.

Under Global CAPE, the FTC will have the chance to cooperate with other members on privacy- and data security-related law enforcement issues, as well as share information with partners, without the need for a memorandum of understanding. The FTC voted unanimously to allow staff to participate in the agreement.

Global CAPE was created to supplement the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation Cross-border Privacy Rules. While created for APEC CBPR, the nonbinding agreement allows non-Asia-Pacific countries to participate, the Federal Trade Commission said.

The decision follows several calls and actions involving the FTC for data-related concerns.

In August, Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Ed Markey urged the FTC to investigate YouTube and Google for allegedly including inappropriate advertisements on videos marked as “made for kids.” According to the lawmakers, the advertisements directed users to websites with trackers that harvest visitor data.

In July, the FTC and the Department of Health and Human Services warned that patient information collected by health care providers through third-party trackers may be prone to unauthorized use.